Museums

This simple structure built of handmade bricks, remains on its original site, having survived floods, fires, hurricanes, ice storms, and devastating neglect.
Owned by the City of Monroe, it is leased to the Monroe Town Committee of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Louisiana. In 1962, these Dames began the effort to preserve the vacant building as a museum of early, local, southern, and American artifacts. In 1994, the museum received from the Louisiana Preservation Alliance its prestigious SPECIAL AWARD 1994.

The Masur Museum of Art is the largest visual arts museum in Northeast Louisiana. Housed in the former home of the Masur family, the museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Because admission is always free, all members of our community can expand their horizons through the museum's many and diverse offerings. The Masur Museum of Art presents an ongoing schedule of temporary exhibitions that are supported by a wide variety of educational programs for children and adults. Lectures, films, and artist talks are presented in the Lower River Gallery. The Carriage House is used for art classes, summer art camps, workshops, and demonstrations.

The Cooley House was designed in 1908 for entrepreneur Gilbert Brian “Captain” Cooley of Monroe by internationally acclaimed architect Walter Burley Griffin. The home was not built until 1925-26.The Cooley House is constructed of concrete with wood trim and a green tile roof. The home also has a central vacuum system, central steam heating, an incinerator, a steam shower, a sunken tub, and the original cork floor. The home also has a detached carport. This was not part of the original 1908 plans. Cooley became the first person in Monroe to own an automobile, and the structure was added to the 1925 building plans. The Cooley House is Griffin’s last structure to be completed in the United States, and is one of the last surviving examples of Prairie School residential architecture in the South. Among architects and historians it is also noted for combining elements of Griffin’s American and Australian periods.

The Northeast Louisiana Children’s Museum is an exciting, intriguing, and educational environment where families, parents and children alike, can enjoy the fun-filled and hands-on experience. The museum presents an assortment of monthly events to coincide with their exhilarating permanent exhibits. They provide family memberships and host field trip groups and birthday parties along with coupons for everyday discounts. So, bring your kids and take a look into the arts at the Northeast Louisiana Children’s Museum.